EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte discusses the health system’s partnership with Lake Washington School District at the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce luncheon on December 17, 2015.

EvergreenHealth and Lake Washington School District partner to provide access to hands-on educational opportunities

Students from Eastlake High School will present solutions to real issues posed by Kirkland-based health system EvergreenHealth at an upcoming meeting of community members and business leaders at the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce luncheon this Thursday, Dec. 17.

Students from East Lake High School’s Sammamish Startups class worked hand-in-hand with professionals from EvergreenHealth to develop real-world solutions to health care industry challenges

As part of its partnership with the Lake Washington School District (LWSD), EvergreenHealth worked alongside students within the district’s Career and Technical Education Sammamish Start-Ups class at Eastlake High School to share real issues impacting the health system’s administrators and care providers, and challenged teams of juniors and seniors to create new initiatives and ideas for solving these pressing matters.

Top student groups from East Lake High School’s Sammamish Startups class presented their real-world solutions to health care industry challenges at the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce luncheon December 17, 2015

The class, which focuses on business and marketing topics, along with technology and engineering, asked students to consider approaches to three challenges presented by EvergreenHealth leaders: 1) how to deliver pain-management education, 2) how to deliver incentives and praise to individuals and groups, and 3) how to bring greater awareness to travel medicine care and services. Over several weeks, the students collaborated with EvergreenHealth representatives and presented their best thinking to a panel of the health system’s leaders, including its senior leadership team and CEO.

“We are very proud to partner with schools and students across the region to work to prepare for our future together,” said EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte. “We’re committed to supporting our schools, and helping students get hands-on experience to become part of the solution to challenges we face as health care providers, and collectively as a community. We’re both impressed and encouraged by these students’ dedication to innovative problem solving and we look forward to continuing this partnership in new ways.”

The Start Ups class is part of LWSD’s “Signature Programs,” which are thematic, interdisciplinary instructional blocks organized around career clusters and pathways. The courses create opportunities for students to combine rigorous academics with innovative occupational experiences in order to learn more about careers in business fields of their interest by working closely with local businesses on problem-based learning across of range of industries and professions.

“Signature Programs allow us to expand the walls of our classrooms and give students a learning experience that will prepare them for life post-graduation,” said Dr. Traci Pierce, superintendent of Lake Washington School District. “Our partners are integral part of this program, as they provide the link between classroom learning and real-world applications.”

Since the program launched in September of 2013, the district has partnered with several Puget Sound-area organizations that represent a range of industries and areas of expertise, offering students the opportunity to access and work closely with a diverse range of professionals for course projects. In addition to the Start Ups class, EvergreenHealth partnered with LWSD on the district’s first Global Health STEM Program at Juanita High School, providing hands-on education through a year-long collaboration that emphasized learning opportunities in STEM subjects.

The top student groups from the Start Ups class will present their findings and solutions to EvergreenHealth’s challenges at the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce meeting Thursday, Dec. 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., at the Plateau Club located at 25625 E Plateau Dr., Sammamish, WA 98074.